InterHouse Revelations
by Snowman1400
Summary: Harry is back Hogwarts for his sixth year. He notices a boy that looks strangely familiar, finds out about a unbelieveable secret that is a link to his past and the key to his future also having problems with a certain girl and the everpresent u no who
1. Owl Post Once Again

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the names, places, etc.  
  
Chapter One:  
  
Owl Post Once Again  
  
It was nearing midnight, and the small road was completely deserted. Only a tiny flicker from the streetlamps remained. Shadows consumed most of the neighborhood, and it seemed as if everyone on Privet Drive was sound asleep. Well, it seemed that way.  
  
A young, black haired boy sat at his window, looking out to the street below. He stared intently into nothingness, unable to fall asleep. Harry Potter had often been suffering from insomnia nowadays. Somehow he just wasn't capable of actually drifting off.  
  
Thoughts raced across Harry's mind, most of them concerning his godfather. Or ex-godfather, now that he thought about it. Tears welled up in his eyes as he recalled that fateful night, down in the department of mysteries. Oh, how he missed Sirius. Harry shook himself. He wasn't the type of person that got over-emotional.  
  
But still, Sirius was all he had had left, and now.well, he didn't want to think about it. He climbed down from his windowsill and threw back his comforter. 'Maybe it'll all seem better after a little rest.'  
  
Harry didn't know how wrong he was. He had only returned to number four, Privet Drive a little over a week ago, and already he felt as if he would never be happy again. Sure, his summers had been less than enjoyable when spent at his aunt and uncle's house, but this time it was infinitely worse. Harry had a night full of fitful dreams, most of which ended in him staring down through the veil, calling after his lost friend.  
  
It was nearly ten o'clock am when Harry woke up, which this summer was somewhat normal. His whole life was messed up now. Instead of rising early and plotting some kind of revenge against his cousin Dudley like normal, he instead preferred to sleep as late as possible. However, Harry realized, he was lucky to have stayed in bed so long. Four owls were waiting for him, all perched on the windowsill he had been sitting on the night before, making quite a racket.  
  
Harry sat up immediately and hurried over to the birds, making first for his own, a snowy owl named Hedwig. "Hello, there," he said gloomily. She paused momentarily to let him untie the note and then flew over to her post and started to eat her breakfast. Harry then relieved the other birds from their letters, and recognized two of them as Pig, his best friend Ron's miniscule pet, and the tawny as one of Hogwarts' many owls. The third bird was unfamiliar to him, but he still allowed it to have a sip out of Hedwig's water dish before sending it on its way.  
  
Harry opened the letter from Hogwarts. Knowing full well that it was too early to expect his annual school supplies list, he read the letter with intense curiosity. There was only one person whom he could expect a letter from at Hogwarts, and seeing as they had tried their hardest the past year to avoid him, Harry doubted that was the sender. And he was right in his suspicions. Harry was extremely surprised to find an unsigned, hastily scribbled note. However, the person who wrote it was unmistakable. Harry gave way to a small smile when he realized who was writing to him, but it quickly disappeared when he read the entire content.  
  
Deer Harry,  
  
I heard about what hapened and I'm real sorry about it. He was a good man. There's somethin we need to talk about, but in person. Come to see me as soon as you get back.  
  
Harry knew that Hagrid sympathized with him, but there was no way he could know what he was feeling right now. He placed the letter on the bed and grabbed the next one, which had happened to come from Pig. This letter was even more upsetting than the last, but not nearly in the same way.  
  
Harry-  
  
How are you? I guess I'm nearly alright, but you know.Anyways I was talking to mum and dad, but it seems there's no way for us to come and get you this summer. We've all been super busy you know, finding a new headquarters and whatever else. You might have to get a ride with your family to the train this year.Write back as soon as you get this, alright?  
  
-Ron  
  
Were all the letters going to carry such bad news? The part of the note that was supposed to anger him most, he knew, was the fact that he couldn't stay with the Weasleys this summer. But Harry seemed a bit relieved, actually, because he still wasn't entirely ready to face his friends again. No, it was the way the letter was written that really made him upset. It seemed like Ron had just forgotten about it all, moved on. Well, Sirius didn't mean as much to him, but still, he almost sounded normal.  
  
Harry moved on to the next letter, which Hedwig had brought him. It was a reply to the letter he had written to Hermione only a few days ago. He looked at the neatly folded letter, noting how she had taken time to magically seal it. Harry wondered where on earth she could have learned to do that, but he realized it was Hermione Granger he was talking about, and he let it go. He slit open the letter with a discarded quill, and started to read.  
  
Dear Harry,  
  
I know it must be hard for you, but really, I don't think you're being entirely healthy. It's hard on me too, but please, just get some sleep and have a bit of something to eat, okay? I suspect I'll talk to you soon,  
  
With love, Hermione  
  
Harry just looked at her handwriting, so perfectly shaped and spaced. He didn't know what to think about it, so he set it down next to the others and opened the final note.  
  
Harry,  
  
I'm sorry I haven't written sooner, and I'm sure you feel very isolated living with those retched muggles that call themselves your family. However, there's nothing much to write about. I've mostly been helping locate a new place for the Order, but so far I've had no such luck. It's not like I have anything else to do, though, but I was wondering if I might stop in for a visit sometime? Do you still subscribe to the Daily Prophet? Now that Fudge admits Voldemort's back, the truth is all over, and there are more than a few apologetic remarks in your favor! Please respond as quickly as possible, I really think I should come round your house soon.  
  
Best Wishes,  
  
Remus  
  
As he looked down at the letter, Harry knew that Lupin was only trying to look out for him, but he still wasn't interested in talking to him just yet. He did appreciate him trying to cheer him up though.  
  
Harry fell down on top of all the post, lying as still as possible, listening to the normal morning-time sounds of the Dursleys' house. He could hear Vernon's muffled voice, cursing out the television for showing falling stock numbers. Petunia could be heard chatting on the telephone with some other member of the neighborhood association, and Dudley was playing some new video game on some new TV set in his newly decorated room. Dudley had recently gotten in an argument with his parents about what kind of car he would be receiving for his birthday; apparently, they just didn't have the money at the moment to get him his fantasy car. Harry hadn't even bothered to ask his aunt and uncle about driving. Harry glanced around his own, much shabbier bedroom, before concluding that he liked his better this way. Of course, everything would have been much nicer with all those games and toys, but he really wasn't in the mood to be jealous of his overly pampered cousin.  
  
Suddenly feeling very hungry, Harry sat up and headed downstairs for his first meal in days.  
  
As he walked into the kitchen, both of his guardians' heads turned to look at him in surprise.  
  
"Well it's about bloody time you came out of that room," his uncle started, "There's plenty of chores to be done around here, and you can start with my car. Now when you rinse the soap off of the hood, make sure you-"  
  
Harry gave him a weak smile and didn't even gratify his uncle with an answer. Vernon started to drift off, knowing that there was no way that he was going to get his nephew to clean his newest automobile, but still occasionally saying phrases like, "dry it off completely," and, "wax in the garage."  
  
Harry made for the fridge when the phone started ringing. Apparently, Aunt Petunia had hung up with one of the other mothers. Vernon glared at him and said, "Get that."  
  
He knew that he had already defied his uncle enough for the morning, so he grudgingly picked up the receiver and said, "Hello? Dursley residence." There was a small crackle and a very familiar voice said, "Hello? Yes, I'd like to speak with Harry, please."  
  
"Hermione?"  
  
The voice on the phone seemed shocked, but recovered quickly with, "Harry! Oh, how are you? Are you alright? You seem-"  
  
Harry frowned at his friend, but realizing that she couldn't see him, he asked, "How did you get this number?"  
  
However, Harry was spared hearing the answer by Uncle Vernon, who yanked the receiver out of his hand and spat into the phone, "WHO IS THIS?"  
  
Harry couldn't tell what Hermione was telling his dear uncle, but whatever it was, it seemed to work. Uncle Vernon handed back the phone, muttering under his breath, "Bloody abnormals."  
  
The sight of his uncle in such a state almost made Harry laugh out loud, but he was brought back to reality by Hermione, who was already talking about vacation, summer, and school. Harry told her about how he was going to have to ask his aunt and uncle for a ride to the station, and she seemed as equally distressed about this as he was. "Oh, that's awful! An entire summer there? Well, I suppose it'd be for the best, I mean, now that everyone knows You-Know-Who's back, well, it's safer for you to be there, I guess. Oh, but I do have an idea."  
  
"Really." Harry said curiously.  
  
"Yes, but I really must go, it costs a fortune to call long distance, especially from this far away, well, have a good rest of summer Harry, stay in touch."  
  
After they said their quick goodbyes, she was gone. It was only after Harry hung up the phone that he realized how much he really did miss talking to his friends.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Sirius looked all around him. He was somewhere very dark, and very cold. He tried to stand up, but his legs wouldn't permit him. So he just sat there.waiting. 


	2. Something Familiar

Chapter Two: Something Familiar  
  
Harry lay on a park bench, just relaxing. His summer was nearly over, but it seemed like much more time had passed. But then again, this didn't seem that strange to him. He only had five days until his return to King's Cross Station, and he couldn't remember a time when he had wanted to return less. Sure, it would be better to be around his own kind, but that would mean that he would have to face it, have to accept it.  
  
Harry shook himself at the thought, and sat straight up. He looked across the park, which was almost deserted. He saw some ways off that little Mark Evans boy Dudley used to beat up.There was something strange about that kid, that was for sure. He was really short for his age, but then again, so was Harry. He didn't dwell on this, though, because he decided to get up and go to the house and pack. But as he was walking, he felt like someone was watching him. It was the same feeling he had gotten back in the alleyway just before his third year, but it had been Sirius who was watching him, and he doubted that was who it was now.  
  
Harry spun around and saw, much to his amazement, Mark Evans. He had apparently sent off his friends, but why was he trying to talk to Harry? He attempted to act like he hadn't seen him, but it was too late.  
  
"Alright there, Harry?"  
  
Not knowing or caring how the little boy knew his name, Harry merely mumbled a quiet, "Yea." Really, Mark could only be about ten or eleven years old, why was he hanging around him?  
  
There was a moment of awkward silence, with only the sound of their feet hitting the sidewalk. Harry noticed that Mark was staring at his pocket, then, realizing why, instinctively pulled his t-shirt down over the top of his wand. Hopefully, he didn't notice.  
  
"I know what that is."  
  
Harry cursed himself for being so careless, and took a deep breath, trying to look as if he didn't know what the child was talking about. Lucky for Harry, they had arrived at his aunt and uncle's house. He made for the front pathway, but Mark kept talking to him.  
  
"You live with your cousin's parents, yea?"  
  
Harry frowned slightly, and nodded. "Never knew my parents."  
  
"Yeah, well, I know how that is."  
  
Harry hadn't had any clue that Mark's parents had died, and said apologetically, "Oh. Er, I'm sorry."  
  
Mark gave a weak smile and said, "Don't be. I never met them. They weren't ever even married, I don't think, that's why I've got me mum's last name."  
  
Mark moved under the porch light. This was the first time Harry had ever gotten a good look at him. He looked strangely familiar, and with a jolt, he saw that they had almost identical, almond shaped green eyes. His stomach clenched as he noticed another strange resemblance.  
  
Mark noticed him staring. "What?" he accused.  
  
"It's nothing," Harry mumbled, averting his gaze, "You just reminded me of someone I knew."  
  
Harry thought about this momentarily, but then he stopped when Mark said his goodbyes and took off. There was definitely something strange about that boy.  
  
Harry went inside and straight up to his room, but looking around, saw that it would take him a while to pack, and went back downstairs. He was looking for a snack to munch on when his uncle entered the room. He had been dreading this moment for nearly the entire summer, but couldn't think of a better time to ask him.  
  
"Er, Uncle Vernon?"  
  
His uncle merely grunted in his direction.  
  
"There's something I've been meaning to ask you."  
  
Harry's words seemed to be getting more and more difficult to say.  
  
"Er, could you, uh, give me a ride to the train station on Sunday?"  
  
Vernon Dursley looked at his nephew, sizing him up. Harry knew his answer would be long thought of and calculated. Vernon knew his nephew couldn't get there without his help; he had a shrewd idea of the trouble he had gotten in last summer for using that godforsaken bit of wood. No, Harry was completely under his control.  
  
His uncle smiled. Harry prepared himself for the worst. And that is exactly what he got.  
  
"I don't think so. No, definitely not."  
  
Harry tried to shrug it off, but he didn't know how he was going to get to the Hogwarts Express. Or, for that matter, buy his new school supplies. There was a whole list of them that arrived only the day before, along with his O.W.L. scores. He had done surprisingly well in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and much to his surprise, Potions. Harry had received and 'O' in both. He had a feeling that there had been at least some persuading done for Snape to give him such an excellent grade, but he was entirely grateful. He had also received 'E's in Transfiguration and Charms, but an 'A' in both Divination and Astronomy and a 'P' in History of Magic. However, Harry hadn't been expecting much from History of Magic; he had fallen asleep in the middle and hadn't been able to finish hardly any of it.  
  
Harry went up to his room once more, thinking desperately of what he could do. He wrote letters to everyone he knew asking for help or possible ideas. Well, save for Dumbledore. Somehow, he just didn't have the urge to ask him for help.  
  
After writing the letters, he sent them off with Hedwig, who looked only too delighted to have another journey. Harry gave her a soft pet and let her out the window. He watched her soar away into the darkness, and then turned to face his room after she had disappeared. It was a right mess.  
  
There were clothes everywhere; draped over chairs, stuffed under the wardrobe, and just lying, scattered on the floor. He made to pick them up. After he had stuffed them all in a laundry basket, he took them to the washer. If he was going to find a way to get to school, he might as well be wearing clean clothes.  
  
After the wash was done, Harry took all of it over to his trunk and dropped it in. He only bothered to fold his robes; everything else used to be Dudley's, so it was obviously already wrinkled and there was no point in trying to maintain them. Harry had considered buying his own muggle clothes, but seeing as all of his money was in Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts, it would have been extremely difficult. He suddenly realized that his aunt and uncle still had no idea that he had his own money, much less his own vault to store it in. He smiled, cherishing the secret.  
  
Harry flopped down on his bed, and fell straight asleep.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Suddenly there were voices. Sirius looked around, trying to find out which direction they were coming from. They seemed to be reverberating off of everything. Then, he realized, there were bodies to go along with the voices, but they didn't seem entirely whole. His first thought was ghosts. But they couldn't be. He had seen a ghost before. Many, in fact. He was about to ask the nearest what they were when one of them spoke. 


	3. Dudley's Crush

Chapter Three: Dudley's Crush  
  
Harry awoke to the sound of a car engine on the road outside his window. He leaned over and glanced at his clock. 11:34. Wonderful.  
  
He rolled out of bed and threw on some jeans and an old shirt. Looking in the mirror desperately, he tried to calm his hair, but it just wouldn't stay down.  
  
Harry decided that he was hungry enough to go and try to have a bit of breakfast. He walked past Dudley's room, where he could be heard playing an advanced level videogame. A few years ago, Harry would have given anything to have his own Playstation, but now that he knew what else there was out there, (i.e.: secret wizarding communities, magic spells, and an evil man out to kill him), he didn't see the point in wasting his time playing car chasing games.  
  
Aunt Petunia was sitting next to uncle Vernon in the kitchen. They were both facing the doorway, as if waiting for their scrawny nephew. However, Harry had grown a lot this summer, and not just physically. He was pretty sure he could deal with whatever they were about to tell him.  
  
"Good morning!" Harry said cheerfully, in an attempt to lighten the mood.  
  
All he got in response were a couple of blank stares.  
  
Harry made for the cupboard; he was in the mood for some really sugary cereal. The kind with the marshmallows in it.  
  
"You've had a telephone call."  
  
Harry spun around so fast, the bits of candy from his breakfast flew about the room.  
  
"What was that?" he said curiously.  
  
Vernon started again. "Some girl. I've forgotten her name."  
  
Harry glared at his uncle, about ready to fire off. "Uncle Vernon, I really need you to think, who was it?"  
  
His uncle's face revealed that he was thinking hard about this. On one hand, he had a piece of information that he could dangle over Harry's head. On the other, they might be coming to take him away like the previous summers.  
  
Harry's face started to turn a claret red. He was trying to restrain himself. Just then, his aunt came to his rescue.  
  
"Oh go on then, Vernon, just tell him."  
  
Harry was just as shocked at this streak of kindness as her husband was.  
  
It apparently took Harry's uncle a lot of self-determination to actually give his nephew something he wanted.  
  
"You've got to stop them calling here. It's a zoo."  
  
Harry just looked at his uncle expectantly. Who would be calling him? Hermione was on vacation somewhere far away, what other girls did he know? His thoughts rested briefly on Cho, but he shook her out of his mind - that was long over.  
  
Vernon looked at the young boy. Finally, he seemed to give way. "Ginny something or other. But you best not tie up our phone lines talking, you hear? We don't pay that much so you can - "  
  
But Vernon Dursley didn't even get to finish his sentence. Harry was already halfway up the stairs, heading for the other telephone.  
  
It was only when he put his hand on the receiver that he realized he didn't have a number to reach the Weasleys at. They communicated by use of magic, and Harry had nothing of the sort. But then, why was he so worried about contacting the WEASLEYS? Wasn't it only GINNY who had called him? Surely if there had been any plans to remove him from Number Four, Ron would have called. So then what was this about.  
  
He was feeling very distressed. Harry didn't often receive phone calls. He looked around the hallway, wondering what he should do. The first thing he thought of was to go and finish his breakfast.  
  
Harry sat at the table, watching the morning news while he ate his food. The newscaster was saying something about rabbits. The adults of the house were talking in the corner, making sure to hush their voices. It seemed as if they were avoiding their nephew. But then again, that had been happening all summer. With the exception of the small period of time between his first and second years, (when his family was unaware he could not practice magic out of school), the Dursleys had tried to make his life as miserable as possible. Before Harry could think about this more, however, the doorbell rang.  
  
Aunt Petunia looked at him and said sharply, "Well?"  
  
He knew that his aunt expected him to answer the door, so he rose from his seat and headed towards the front of the house.  
  
Harry looked through the peephole to a peculiar sight.  
  
Standing there were three people, two of which were unfamiliar to him, but one whom he knew very well. He flung open the door.  
  
"HARRY!" came the high-pitched, girlish shriek. He whipped around just in time to catch her in his arms.  
  
Hermione Granger jumped up and gave him a big hug. "Harry! Wow, you've gotten taller. We've come to take you with us! Oh you look dead tired, I'm sure-"  
  
"How did you get here?"  
  
Hermione looked at him like he must have been the stupidest person alive.  
  
"Well, we drove, of course."  
  
Harry beamed at her, admiring her newly tanned skin and still extremely bushy hair, which was thankfully pulled back in a low ponytail. "Come on then, let me show you the house."  
  
Harry let her parents in and introduced himself. It was then that Mr. And Mrs. Dursley exited the kitchen and saw the Grangers. They looked very uncomfortable to have these strangers in their house.  
  
"C'mon," Harry said. I'll show you around.  
  
Hermione smiled and followed him upstairs. Harry made quite an ordeal of opening his bedroom door in a very fancy way and led her into his room. He could tell from her face that she didn't like it, but she said, "Oh, well, it's very, er, nice." Harry laughed at her, and replied, "You're joking right? It's rubbish!" She looked very relieved that he could joke about his less than admirable living quarters, but nonetheless she still continued to act as if she liked it. "No, really, I, -"  
  
Harry looked at her expectantly. "Yes?"  
  
"Oh who am I kidding," she said, "It is rubbish."  
  
Harry laughed again and pulled her out, showing her the rest of the house. He opened the door to his cousin's room. Dudley looked up from his video game to see who was intruding on him. He took a double take, however, when he saw Hermione standing there. Obviously he had never thought that he would ever live to see a girl standing in his room. He tried to stand up, but either he lacked the muscle strength to do so or he just weighed so much that it was physically impossible. Whichever one, though, didn't matter, because Hermione went straight over to him and offered him her hand to shake. "Hello," she started, "My name's Hermione Granger."  
  
Dudley took this opportunity to wipe all the greasy chip crumbs from his stubby fingers and shake her hand delicately. "I'm Dudley."  
  
It was obvious that Dudley was quite taken with her, but Harry promised himself that he would only use this bit of information if extremely severe taunting were necessary.  
  
Dudley soon recovered himself, and went back to being the impossible, overgrown child that he was. "So I guess you finally found yourself a girlfriend, Potter!"  
  
Harry was momentarily confused by this, but Hermione, thinking fast, said, "Hmm, I don't think much of this mess." motioning to the pile of rubbish beside the youngest Dursley. "Maybe I'll just-" Hermione brandished her wand, knowing full well how terrified Dudley would be. And she couldn't be more right. The speed at which Dudley Dursley then left the room defied the laws of physics.  
  
Hermione looked around Dudley's bedroom, obviously thinking that it was much nicer than Harry's. But just then, her parents came through the door and said, "You had better gather your things, Harry dear, we have to be on our way."  
  
Harry and Hermione ran back to his room to grab his trunk. Luckily, he had packed it all the night before. Harry lifted the luggage while Hermione took Hedwig's empty cage. They trooped downstairs with his school things, and put them next to the door. Mr. Granger stooped over and picked up his trunk. Harry then offered to take the birdcage from his friend, and the four of them went off to the Grangers' car. Harry waved enthusiastically back at his relatives, who only looked at him, apparently dumbstruck.  
  
After all of his things were packed in the rear compartment of the car, Harry and Hermione piled in the backseat while her parents sat in front. Harry looked around the impeccably clean automobile, and then horror struck.  
  
"Hermione," he began, "I haven't been to pick up my school things yet. How am I-"  
  
Hermione giggled and said, "Don't be silly. We're going shopping tomorrow morning."  
  
Harry smiled at her, and leaned back in his seat, very content.  
  
"Wait a minute," he said, "When did you all plan this?"  
  
This time it was Hermione's father that spoke.  
  
"You didn't think we'd leave you all by yourself for the entire summer, did you?"  
  
Then, her mother chimed in.  
  
"Yes, its just a pity we didn't come to collect you sooner. Hermione's been hassling us to come by all summer ."  
  
Harry smiled at his friend, seeing for the first of many times just how lucky he was to have her around.  
  
*** Harry had had no idea how close the Grangers really lived from the Dursleys. It was no more than a 45-minute car ride, and that was with traffic.  
  
Their house was very nice. Although the outside looked nothing more than average, the inside was decorated with what could only be incredibly expensive. The furniture itself must have cost more than the Dursley's entire house. There were paintings covering every wall, and a fireplace in every other room. Hermione, however, seemed not to notice the luxury she lived in. She walked right in and plumped down on a large couch in the middle of a sitting room. She said, "Well come on then, have a seat."  
  
Harry sat next to her, all the while looking at their lavish surroundings. "You have a really nice house, Hermione."  
  
"You think so?" she said. "I've always thought it was a bit, I dunno, much."  
  
Harry laughed at her and asked her where the bathroom was. It wasn't a surprise to him that it was also decorated as if the people who used it had a ridiculous amount of money to spend. He looked in the mirror at himself and realized that he was still dressed in the grubby clothes he had thrown on this morning.  
  
He exited the bathroom and went over to ask Hermione where he would be sleeping. Before he had seen her home, Harry had pictured himself sleeping on a couch, not that he would have cared. But now he wasn't sure what to expect.  
  
Hermione showed Harry to the guest bedroom, which goes without saying that it was much nicer than Harry's own. He threw his trunk down and looked around. There was a television in the corner, and a sliding glass door that led out onto his own private balcony. He was amazed.  
  
Hermione told him that he would be sleeping in here.  
  
"Where's your room?" Harry asked.  
  
Hermione led him out into the hallway and to the left. There was a wooden door with a flowery sign that read HERMIONE. Harry smiled at this and followed her inside.  
  
Her room was surprisingly less decorated. There were only the essentials; a bed, a desk, a closet, and what seemed to be an attached bathroom. Okay, so maybe a bit more than the basics.  
  
Harry gazed at her incredibly clean room. She then said to him, "I know, I'm sorry, it really is a mess."  
  
Harry gave out one really loud laugh and then followed a semi-embarrassed Hermione downstairs.  
  
***  
  
They left their house at 9:00 am on the following morning. The 3 Grangers and Harry all got into what appeared to be a minivan. It wasn't a very long drive, but Harry couldn't wait for it to be over. He and Hermione talked constantly the entire way there, and her parents kept giving them strange looks for the entire car ride.  
  
Harry was eagerly anticipating their arrival at Diagon Alley. They drove up to the Leaky Cauldron and parked across the road. The group of four went in the inconspicuous bar and out the back door. Entering the magically concealed street wasn't a problem for them; Hermione simply tapped the special brick with her wand and they were in.  
  
Harry looked longingly at the street covered with witches and wizards of all sorts. He finally felt like he was somewhere where he fit in.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Why are you here?" the shadow person said. Sirius had to admit he didn't know. "Where is here??" The man just looked at him and said, "It isn't your time. You shouldn't be here." It was Sirius' turn to stare at him. "Wait, what? Where am I? Who are you? What is this?" "Too many questions. One at a time, please." "Where is Harry?" The man looked at him, evidently thinking. "We do not know a Harry. Where you are is the Realm of Passing." Sirius stared at the man. "And what the bloody hell is that?" 


	4. The Hogwarts Express

Chapter Four  
  
Back on the Train  
  
Harry's time with the Grangers went by incredibly quickly. He enjoyed it very much but still preferred the clutter and noise of the Weasley household to that of the Granger palace.  
  
Finally, the morning of September first arrived. Harry was woken early by an incredibly energetic Hermione, who was shaking him and saying something along the lines of, "going to be late-must hurry!!"  
  
Harry looked at his watch and saw that they had enough time to walk to the train station if they had felt like it; therefore they were in no way going to be late.  
  
He rolled over and looked up at her. She was already completely dressed in a sweater and jeans. Harry took a moment or two to recover himself, and then sat up.  
  
"Harry, c'mon, breakfast's waiting!"  
  
Suddenly, Harry had never felt hungrier in his life. He stood up slowly and then, in an effort to get a bit of fun in his friend, he said very quickly, "Race you!"  
  
Harry bolted out the door and it took Hermione a second or two to realize what had happened. But then there she was, running beside him. They burst into the kitchen and he proclaimed loudly, "I win!!"  
  
The pair sat down and looked ahead of them. Harry had never seen a healthier array of food.  
  
There was a multitude of fruit, a small bowl of porridge, and a tall glass of some type of fruit juice for each of them. He knew that Hermione's parents were overly paranoid about cavities, (they were dentists, after all). But living in the same household as Dudley had gotten him used to a much more, well, sugary diet.  
  
Mr. and Mrs. Granger made small talk while the children finished their meals. Then they all climbed in the car one last time and headed for the train station.  
  
It was a dark and gloomy day, with occasional patches of rain. The wind blew so hard that Harry nearly fell over when he exited the car.  
  
Harry and Mr. Granger carried the luggage inside. After they had secured a couple of carts, they made their way to the platform.  
  
The entrance to the platform had always intrigued Harry. When a witch or wizard wanted to enter, all they had to do was walk straight at the wall between platforms nine and ten. Then they would disappear into the area beyond.  
  
Hermione motioned for Harry to come and walk through with her, but Mr. Granger held him back and said, "Hermione, dear, go through with your mother this time, there's a good girl."  
  
Hermione looked utterly confused by this statement, but her mother had already grabbed her arm and was halfway to dragging her through. Hermione just shrugged and walked through the barrier with her mom.  
  
Harry started to walk after them, but it seemed that Hermione's dad had other plans.  
  
"Now you listen here, boy."  
  
Harry looked at him, completely perplexed.  
  
"I've heard of the trouble you get into up at that school. I'm not completely naïve. But I just want you to know, that if you're, well, Hermione might feel obligated to go along with you, since you two are, well."  
  
Harry looked at the older man, still not understanding what he was saying.  
  
"More than friends," her dad finished.  
  
Harry gave him a look of pure shock, and then covered it up with a bit of laughter.  
  
"You thought, me and Hermione, were, together?"  
  
Mr. Granger stared into Harry's eyes, but this time it was his turn to be confused.  
  
"Don't worry, Mr. Granger. We're friends, that's all. Really."  
  
Her father looked extremely relieved at this bit of news, and gave the boy a weak smile. "Terribly sorry."  
  
Then the two of them walked through the barrier, and onto platform 9¾. Hermione looked up from tying her shoes and whispered to Harry, "What was that about?"  
  
"Later," he mouthed.  
  
She nodded at him and helped him carry his trunk on board. Then they exited the train to go and say their goodbyes to her parents. It was in the middle of Harry thanking them for letting him stay at their house that he saw Mrs. Weasley come through the barrier with Ron at her side. The Weasleys were generally late for everything, so it was no surprise to see them coming with little less than three minutes before the train left. Ron called out to his two best friends, and hurried over.  
  
But it was as Ron was walking towards them that Harry spotted someone very familiar.  
  
"Hermione! Harry! Wha-" Ron began, but he saw Harry staring intently on some first year, and wondered what was wrong.  
  
"What's going on, mate?"  
  
Hermione noticed him acting weirdly as well.  
  
She nudged Ron and pointed to a very small boy standing amongst a group of equally tiny children.  
  
Ron looked over, but he completely missed what all the fuss was about.  
  
"Well," he said, "I'll just go and put my stuff on the train."  
  
But neither of them was listening to him. Ron trudged off, looking left out.  
  
"Harry," Hermione whispered, "He looks just like Sirius!"  
  
"Yeah," he said, "Only he's got the same eyes as me."  
  
Hermione looked from Harry to the little boy and said, "Oh my god! You're right! Who is he?"  
  
Harry turned to her and said, "Mark Evans."  
  
***  
  
"I win again."  
  
Harry looked helplessly up at his best friend. He had just beaten him at chess for the 5th game in a row.  
  
"Let's take a break."  
  
Ron smiled at him. "Yeah, beating you's gotten pretty boring."  
  
"Oh, thanks," Harry retorted.  
  
Hermione was sitting in the corner. For the entire train ride, she had been staring out of the window, apparently thinking hard about something.  
  
Ron seemed to notice how oddly she was acting as well, and asked, "Alrigh' there, Hermione?"  
  
She looked at them momentarily and gave a small humming noise as if to say 'yes.'  
  
Then, Harry head footsteps outside the door. He looked up just in time to see Ginny Weasley walk inside. "Wow, she looks good,' he thought. Wait a minute. Had he just thought that? He glanced back up at her, and there was no denying - Ginny Weasley had grown a lot too over the summer. In all the right places. There was definitely something different about her.  
  
"Hey Harry!"  
  
Harry smiled at her and said very quietly, "Hey Gin."  
  
It was then that she sat next to Hermione and they started talking in low voices.  
  
Ron looked at him and said, "What's up with her?"  
  
Harry stared at his best friend's younger sister and said under his breath, "Beats me."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"The Realm of Passing," the man repeated in an echoey voice, "Is the place where we rest, not alive nor dead." Harry's godfather looked at him determinedly. "And how do I get out of here?" The man looked around the group. Suddenly, a much older man came forward. "Why would you want to leave so much?" Once again Sirius stared at him, and gave him a one-word answer. "Harry." 


	5. Back at School

Chapter Five: Back at School  
  
The light seemed to be dimming. Although there were storm clouds in the sky, Harry had the feeling that it was around sunset. He looked out the window into the rain.  
  
"Harry?"  
  
His head spun around. He hadn't been expecting anyone. Everyone had left about fifteen minutes ago, but Harry didn't know where they'd gone. He was somewhat relieved to see Ginny standing in the doorway. But then, those strange feelings he had gotten earlier came rushing back. "Hey."  
  
Ginny smiled at him and walked over to the seat across the compartment. "May I?" she asked, indicating the chair. "What makes you think you even have to ask?" Harry replied.  
  
Ginny plopped down in the red velvet seat and looked directly into Harry's eyes. Her gaze seemed to see right through him, into his inner thoughts. This made Harry want to look away, but at the same time, he just couldn't.  
  
"So," he said, "What's new?"  
  
She gave him a small grin and said, "Nothing, really. Everyone's just gone to have a walk around the train, but I didn't really feel like it."  
  
"Ah," Harry said. "Say, er, did you call me last week?"  
  
Ginny smiled again. "Yeah," she said, "I was gonna tell you about Hermione coming."  
  
Harry looked confused. "Oh."  
  
"Yes," Ginny continued, "She wanted it to be a surprise, but I didn't think your relatives would think much of that."  
  
Harry laughed and said, "You got that right."  
  
Even though Harry seemed happy on the outside, Ginny could tell that there was something he was hiding. Maybe he had been hoping for more reason behind her telephoning him than to alert him of an arriving friend. But no, he hadn't ever felt that way about her, she was just being childish...  
  
"Why did you think I called?"  
  
How could she have known that was what he had been thinking? Harry looked at her shockingly, and then his face turned an embarrassingly dark shade of red. "Oh, I dunno, I hadn't really given it any thought."  
  
Ginny looked a bit hurt by this comment. "Oh."  
  
Harry looked up at her and saw the same disappointment behind her eyes as there was behind his. There was no question. She obviously felt the same way, otherwise, well, she had to, didn't she? All the signs were there. Harry just wished he knew what to say next. He would have paid all the money in Gringotts to have some sort of smooth line to say to her. But all he could do was gaze into her eyes, her beautiful, brown eyes. He looked closely and saw that there were splashes of other colors recognizable, and was in the middle of admiring such a beautiful thing when something amazing happened.  
  
At the same moment, they both leaned forward. His lips brushed against hers and it was almost as if fireworks had started shooting up in the background. The kiss was far too short, however, because she pulled away less than three seconds after it started.  
  
Harry blushed again and started to apologize, but she just grinned at him. His sentence was cut off by his surprise when she grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him to her. He was in such shock that he had his eyes open for the first bit, but he soon found it much nicer to have them closed.  
  
Harry didn't know how long they carried on like that, but the footsteps that they heard approaching the door came only too soon. They hastily pulled apart as the entrance flung open, with Ron and Hermione behind it. Ron looked completely oblivious to what had just happened; he obviously hadn't seen. But Hermione didn't look so carefree. She was staring intently at the pair of them, her brow furrowed. Harry could tell that he wouldn't be able to keep this major event from her much longer.  
  
***  
  
Unfortunately for Harry, Ron and Hermione stayed in the same compartment as him and Ginny until they arrived at the Hogsmeade station. As everyone was grabbing their things, Harry leaned over to Ginny and whispered, "We'll talk later."  
  
She nodded in agreement, and then they accompanied Ron and Hermione to one of the "horseless" carriages waiting to take them up.  
  
Harry looked at the thestral, and frowned. These creatures brought back bad memories... His mind flashed to Sirius and he felt as if he was going to pass out. He grabbed the side of the carriage, and looked in at his three friends. "You alright, Harry?" said Ron. It took him a moment to recover himself, but soon enough, Harry was in the carriage with them. He took a seat next to Ginny, with Hermione sitting by Ron across from them. In the dark, her hand groped for his, and when she found it, Ginny held tight. "It'll be okay," she said. Harry gave her a weak smile. Just then, Ginny turned away. Harry was confused by this, at least until he saw Hermione's uneasy eyes looking at them. Their hands still held tight, but they acted indifferent towards each other.  
  
"So Harry, we've got to start talking about Quidditch."  
  
He looked at Ron, completely confused.  
  
"What?" he began, "Who's captain?"  
  
"Well, we won't know who until I open this."  
  
Harry looked at what his best friend was holding. He had just pulled it out of his front pocket. It was a small envelope, dark blue in color.  
  
Harry raised an eyebrow at Ron. Ginny looked at her brother and said, "And what is that?"  
  
"This," he said, "is the letter Angelina left me, naming the new captain."  
  
Hermione and Ginny both gaped at Ron. Harry, however, looked troubled.  
  
"Oh don't worry, I'm not opening it until tomorrow morning."  
  
Harry looked slightly relieved at this bit of news, but then he wondered what was stopping Ron from opening it. Ginny seemed to be thinking the same thing.  
  
"Why not just read it now?" she asked.  
  
"Ginny, Ginny, Ginny, you don't know what this is, do you?" said Ron.  
  
Hermione looked at it closely, examining every fold.  
  
"I suppose there's some sort of enchantment on it, then?" said Hermione.  
  
"Right you are, Hermione. It's a reverse Howler."  
  
Ginny looked at her brother, utterly confused.  
  
"What?"  
  
Ron tried explaining. "Instead of exploding if I don't open it, it explodes if I do."  
  
Everyone stared at him expectantly.  
  
"It opens itself at 9:00 tomorrow morning. Something to look forward to, eh?"  
  
Harry gave way to a small grin. Ron was becoming more and more like his older twin brothers with every sentence he said.  
  
Hermione looked at Ron curiously. "Angelina knows how to do that kind of spell?"  
  
"Well, its not that hard," Ron began, "All you have to do..."  
  
But Harry didn't get to hear the rest of Ron's explanation, because they had arrived at the castle. They piled out of the carriage, with Harry in the front. He was closely followed by Ginny, who had only just broken their handhold. The four of them stepped into the Great Hall, and Harry had to admit, it felt great to be home.  
  
***  
  
Harry sat across from Ginny and Hermione at dinner, with Ron at his left. They were in the middle of a discussion on the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, who didn't seem to be present at the moment. Harry wondered who on earth they had landed this year, when Professor Mcgongal marched in, leading a multitude of first years to the front of the room. It was only when he saw them walking in a line did he remember about Evans.  
  
He scanned the room quickly for him, and saw him standing near a small girl with light blonde hair, apparently trying to chat her up. Harry looked at him intensely, thinking. Hermione seemed to get it too. She tried to nudge him under the table, but accidentally hit Ginny's leg instead. It was a good thing that Hermione didn't realize that the two of them had been playing footsie for the past ten minutes. When she finally found Harry's shin, she kicked it softly and said in an undertone, "How is it you know him?"  
  
Harry looked at her, and said back, "Lives in my neighborhood."  
  
Hermione wrinkled her nose. "And what did you say his name was?"  
  
"Mark. Mark Evans."  
  
Hermione seemed to think that this was incredibly interesting, and gazed upon the youth even more intently. Ron looked at them and said incredibly loudly, "Who?"  
  
Ginny seemed to have caught on, and she shushed Ron and then motioned to the small boy in the youngest group of children.  
  
'The pimply one?" said Ron, apparently looking at the boy to Mark's right.  
  
"No," said Hermione, "That one."  
  
"What about him?"  
  
The three of them looked at Ron, eyebrows raised.  
  
"He doesn't look, a bit familiar to you, Ron?" Ginny asked.  
  
Ron looked confused. "What? Do we know him from somewhere? What's going on?"  
  
But just then, the sorting hat started its song.  
  
*  
  
Boys and girls  
  
Of Hogwarts School  
  
For years and years  
  
I've sorted you.  
  
*  
  
I know what to look for  
  
I know what to test  
  
To tell you where  
  
You belong the best.  
  
*  
  
For there are four houses  
  
Each look for different traits  
  
Listen to me carefully  
  
I make no mistakes  
  
*  
  
Bold Gryffindor, for example  
  
Calls for bravery and grace  
  
Brains, to be sure,  
  
But courage in first place  
  
*  
  
Wise Ravenclaw prizes smarts  
  
Way above the rest  
  
A strong thirst for knowledge  
  
And eager to be the best  
  
*  
  
Humble Hufflepuff  
  
Kind above all else  
  
Thinks about others  
  
Not only theirselves  
  
*  
  
And Great Slytherin,  
  
They know what they want  
  
They're quick and shrewd  
  
Talents they flaunt  
  
*  
  
So step up, be not afraid  
  
I'll tell you where to go  
  
Whatever is in your mind  
  
To me will surely show.  
  
**  
  
The Great Hall erupted with applause.  
  
"Wow," said Ron, "It was a bit shorter this year, got straight to the point, didn't it?"  
  
But Harry was hardly listening to him, because he was staring intently at the ceremony. Amery, Christine had just been put in Ravenclaw, but it wasn't her who he was concentrating on.  
  
"I wonder what house he'll be in, then?" Hermione said.  
  
Harry thought that Evans would be in Gryffindor. He looked so much like Sirius, it was wrong to put him anywhere else.  
  
But after Edwards, Theodore had been added to Hufflepuff's ranks, Professor Mcgonagall called out, "Evans, Mark!"  
  
The four of them became immensely quiet, even though Ron still had no idea what was going on.  
  
Evans walked up to the front of the room and sat on the small stool. Mcgonagall placed the hat on his head and they awaited the answer. After what seemed to be centuries, the hat proclaimed, "SLYTHERIN!!!!"  
  
Harry sat there, very still. Mark had seemed like a generally good kid. And he just, well, maybe it was coincidence that he looked so much like Harry's old godfather, but what about his eyes? There was definitely something happening, and Harry wanted to find out what.  
  
***  
  
Dumbledore stood up. Everyone in the Great Hall grew silent, waiting for his start-of-term notices. Harry looked up at the headmaster out of respect. The old man who he had met in his first year had definitely aged quite a bit. In the past six years, many more wrinkles had formed themselves on his face. Harry knew that he was at least somewhat related to causing most of these. Nonetheless, Albus Dumbledore still had the presence of a very powerful man.  
  
"Welcome," he started, "To what will hopefully be a fun-filled and semi- educational year here at Hogwarts."  
  
He took a short break for a small applause, and then started again.  
  
"Many of you must have noticed by now that there is no one occupying the seat two to my left, which is usually reserved for our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Not to worry, though. I have secured a man who was only too happy to take the job, and I'm sure you'll all like him. Now, then, there are a few things I would like to say to you regarding new school rules. Due to recent events, a higher level of security will be imposed here at Hogwarts. A list of these rules will be posted on your house bulletin boards. First years should note..."  
  
Harry tuned out at this point; he already knew about the forest being off limits and first years not being allowed on the house Quidditch teams. Both were rules that he had overlooked, now that he thought of it. Harry had been in the forest on many occasions, all incredibly dangerous. He had also been the youngest seeker for Gryffindor in over one hundred years. His mind drifted to all the other rules he had broken, but just then everyone in the Hall started to rise and start up to bed.  
  
***  
  
Back in the dormitory, Harry and Ron were getting into their pajamas, talking to the rest of their roommates about the new house Quidditch team.  
  
"So who are you planning on having this year, Weasley?"  
  
Ron looked at Dean, smiling. "Well, seeing as I haven't been named captain yet, I can't answer you until tomorrow. But let's just say Derrick and Bole are off for sure. They couldn't hit a bludger to save their lives. Which, ironically, is what their job is anyways, so..."  
  
Ron didn't even finish talking. The other three boys were laughing at his last joke. However, Harry just wasn't in the mood. He lay down in his bed and stared up at the hangings.  
  
Harry wished he believed that Ron would be chosen. He knew how badly Ron wanted it. Besides, Harry hadn't even been on the team for the end of last year. Why would Angelina choose him? But a small part of Harry secretly wished that it would be him who would be named captain. He suddenly felt bad that he was being so selfish, and rolled over, trying to hope that Ron would get the spot.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"This Harry you speak of," said the old man, "He is a friend of yours?" No, thought Sirius, he was more than a friend. He was my responsibility; He was like my own son. "What does it matter?" said Sirius. "I need to get out of here, and if you're not going to help me, then you may as well clear out." The old man stooped down to Sirius' sitting position. "I will help you," said the man, "But under one condition." Sirius didn't like the sound of that. "Yes?" "You must help someone for me. For us," he said, motioning to the rest of the people. Sirius was immensely confused by this. "Alright," he said, "Now tell me how to get out of this ruddy place." The old man closed his eyes. "It is very difficult." "But you said it can be done, I-" The old man held up his hand to silence Sirius. "It can, but only one person has ever done it before." "And who would that be?" inquired Harry's godfather. The old man sighed and said, "He goes by the name of Potter. James Potter." 


	6. And the Captain is

Chapter Six:  
  
And the captain is.  
  
-'NOOOOOOO!!!!!' --"HARRY!"  
  
He awoke with a jolt. Harry had once again been dreaming of Sirius, and wondered if he would ever be able to cope with losing his godfather. He rolled out of bed and looked out the window.  
  
The sun was just peeking out from the horizon. It was probably somewhere around 6:30 a.m. Harry walked over to the windowsill and looked out over the grounds. He watched the sun rise for at least another fifteen minutes, thinking of his lost godfather, and then decided to head to the Hall for breakfast.  
  
Harry was walking down the stairs, when he heard a noise from the common room. He sped up to investigate, but when he got there, there was no one in sight. Confused, Harry looked around the room. His gaze landed upon the fireplace. The fireplace. How many times had he communicated with Sirius via that grate? His head spun at the thought that his godfather's head had been situated there not that long ago. He stared into the back of the logs, only realizing there was nothing to see when another noise broke him from his concentration.  
  
He spun around, looking for the culprit. But he could find no one. Incredibly annoyed, Harry started towards the portrait hole to go and eat.  
  
Harry had been sitting at the table for over half an hour before anyone he knew entered the Great Hall. First came Neville and Dean, and then a couple of Ravenclaw first years. Finally, one of his own people came through the giant double doors.  
  
Hermione saw him and hurried over.  
  
"Good morning," she said. "What's for breakfast?"  
  
"The usual," Harry replied.  
  
Hermione looked at the spread, and after a lengthy consideration, she picked two eggs off of a plate and started to salt them.  
  
"Well, I was talking to Ginny last night."  
  
Harry looked up at her at once and saw that she knew. Hermione hadn't actually spoken with Ginny, and even if she had, she would have already known about the two of them.  
  
"Yeah?" he said, "What'd she say?"  
  
Hermione was half-glad that he was playing along, even though things would have been much easier if he just admitted his feelings.  
  
"She really rates you, you know," said Hermione.  
  
"Really," mumbled Harry. Of course he loved hearing that Ginny was taken with him, but didn't he already know that?  
  
Hermione was at a loss. She had thought it would have a lot easier to talk to Harry about this.  
  
Harry saw his friend looking slightly discouraged, and said, "I guess you know, then?"  
  
She smiled at him. "Yes. It was pretty obvious."  
  
At this point, Ginny entered the room.  
  
"It's just," Harry began, "There's something different about her this year, only I can't put my finger on it."  
  
Hermione smiled at him sweetly and said, "She grew up, Harry."  
  
Harry looked across the room at the youngest Weasley. She was starting to make her way towards him, but was being stopped by many people along the way, most of them being boys. But, much to Harry's relief, she seemed to be blowing them off. It seemed like the only boy Ginny was interested in was Harry Potter.  
  
She was almost at their table. Less than five seconds away. Four, Three, Two, One.  
  
"G'morning Harry. Hermione."  
  
Much to Harry's dismay, she sat next to Hermione instead of him. The three of them began to talk like they would have in old times, before all this had happened. Before Harry and Ginny had that strange encounter, before Lord Voldemort was admittedly at large, before Sirius had.  
  
"Hiya, Harry!"  
  
It was Denis Creevey, the youngest and more annoying of the two Creevey brothers.  
  
"Hullo, Denis."  
  
Hermione and Ginny stifled giggles as they watched Harry try to put up with this tiny person.  
  
"When're Quidditch tryouts?"  
  
Harry looked up at Denis with a 'you must be kidding' kind of look. Denis was entirely the wrong build for the positions that needed filling.  
  
"What position do you play?"  
  
Denis' smile faltered a bit, but he came back with, "Oh, I've never played before, so I guess anything will do, really. But I'd really like to be seeker, er, once you're gone, that is."  
  
Harry's looked of mixed astonishment and disbelief grew larger. "Really?"  
  
But just then, Ron appeared at Harry's side.  
  
"What's happening?" he asked.  
  
"Ah, there you are," said Denis, "When are you holding tryouts?"  
  
Ron looked at the small boy with much the same look Harry had just given him, but when he turned to his friend for confirmation, Harry just gave a look of helplessness and nodded his head.  
  
Ron turned to Denis and said, "Well, seeing as I haven't officially been appointed captain, I can't tell you that. Best come back to ask me at, oh I dunno, five past nine?"  
  
Denis nodded and gave him the 'thumbs-up' sign and left.  
  
Ron sat down next to Harry, and Hermione said scoldingly, "Ron, did it ever occur to you that there might be a slight possibility that you didn't get chosen as captain?"  
  
But Ron wasn't listening. He was already halfway done loading his plate with breakfast food. After he had finished picking out which slices of bacon he wanted, however, he checked his wristwatch and said, "It's nearly nine o'clock!"  
  
He reached inside his breast pocket for the letter Angelina had given him the previous year. He set it down on the table and waited.  
  
Harry stared at the envelope, all the while thinking, 'Please let it be Ron, please let it be Ron.'  
  
After a few moments of silent prayer, the letter started to move. It was slow and hardly noticeable at first, but then it started to shake violently. Harry's first impression was that it was about to explode, but instead it froze suddenly and sprung open.  
  
Ron had been hitting his hands against the tabletop in a drum-roll fashion, trying to build suspense. He covered his eyes with one had and reached for the blue note.  
  
He picked it up and announced, "The new Gryffindor Quidditch captain will be..what?"  
  
His eyes flew across the parchment. A look of confusion passed briefly across Ron's face, followed by a look of embarrassment. He flung the letter down on the table in a mal-tempered mood. Harry took one look at the words and saw what had made Ron act like that.  
  
Dear Ron,  
  
I'm sorry to tell you this, but I just couldn't decide who to appoint. What I do know, though, is that the only players I want to remain on the team are Ginny, yourself, and Harry, (If he's allowed). I want you three to sit down and appoint a new captain yourselves. I'm sorry I couldn't give you a straightforward answer. I do believe that you're more reliable that Potter, but I still just couldn't come to what I thought was a right choice. Good luck in your new season, and if you don't win the cup for Gryffindor, I'll personally come back to school to beat you down.  
  
Sincerely, ~Angelina  
  
Harry finished reading Angelina's writing, and looked up at his best friend.  
  
"Well," said Ron.  
  
"Well," said Harry.  
  
Ginny looked at the two of them and said, "So when're we going to talk all this over?"  
  
Harry and Ron looked at Ginny. They had both forgotten that she was in on this as well.  
  
"Well," started Harry, "How about tonight? We can go over all of this in the common room after dinner, see if we can make any decisions."  
  
Ginny smiled at Harry for being so flexible with the situation, but Ron still seemed to be in shock. He merely nodded and went back to eating his food.  
  
A little while later, they received their new schedules. "Ah," said Harry. "I've got potions this morning. But at least we get Defense Against the Dark Arts today, we can see what kind of whack-job Dumbledore found this year."  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione had all gotten the scores necessary to go on to the next level of Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Harry and Hermione were among the only Gryffindors to get into advanced Potions. Not that Harry was looking forward to it. Being back at school was overwhelming enough, even without Snape hassling him.  
  
Ron looked at his schedule, and seeing that he had Divination again, had to hurry to get to his next class. Hermione looked at Harry expectantly. She was obviously waiting for him to walk with her down to the dungeons. But he had something else he wanted to do.  
  
"I'll meet you there, Hermione."  
  
Harry stayed at the table with Ginny as Hermione sighed and walked out of the Great Hall.  
  
"So," she said.  
  
"So," he said.  
  
"What now?"  
  
Harry looked at her. He didn't know the answer to the question, but he didn't regard that as a bad thing. He did, of course, want them to move their relationship further, but he didn't want to pressure her or anything.  
  
"Well," he said, " Maybe we could, I dunno, eat lunch together or something."  
  
Ginny looked at him confusedly, and then giggled. "Well," she started, "We usually do eat lunch together. Did you mean alone?"  
  
Harry smiled at her and said, "Yeah, that was the general idea."  
  
Ginny broke out in a grin and said, "Wonderful. Where shall I meet you?"  
  
Harry thought a moment or two, having never pondered the idea of eating somewhere else than the Great Hall before. Finally, a small grin broke onto his face and he said, "I have an idea. You have Charms before lunch?"  
  
She raised and eyebrow and replied, "Yes, but if you're planning anything funny, Potter, I-"  
  
Harry laughed and said, "Me? Now why would you think that?"  
  
Ginny laughed at him, and he laughed too. "No, seriously Gin, I'll meet you outside Flitwick's room just before noon, alright?"  
  
She looked at him and said in a semi-serious voice, "Alright, Potter, but let me just tell you, I don't usually put out on the first date, so if you're just looking for some action."  
  
Harry laughed loudly at this comment. Most people would have thought she was being serious about it, but Harry knew her well enough to know when she was joking.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Weasley," he said in a soft voice, "But I really do have to get to Potions. If I'm late on my first day, well,-"  
  
Ginny held up her hand. "No need to say more. Just hurry up, you don't want to be getting detention or anything. We still have that meeting with Ron tonight."  
  
Harry gave her a half-smile and grabbed her hand briefly. "See you later, Ginny."  
  
"Bye, Harry."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Did you say James Potter?" inquired Sirius. "Yes, I did. Now, there was something he had to do, and if we tell you how to get out of here, you must give us your word that you will help him accomplish his goal." Sirius stared at the old man, vaguely aware of his presence. Had he said that James was alive? Sirius looked around the dark space. The other shadow people had retreated slightly when the old man had come to speak with him. "When did James get out of here? What was he trying to do? Where is he now?" Questions were flowing out of Sirius like no other. The old man gave him a silencing look. Sirius stemmed the flow of his queries. "Time does not exist down here, so we have no record of when Mr. Potter came or left. We do not know where he has gone, but we do know what he was going to do." Sirius winced, preparing himself for the news. "Yes?" he said cautiously. The old man took a deep breath. 


	7. New Old Classes

Chapter Seven:  
  
New-Old Classes  
  
"You're late, Mr. Potter."  
  
The sound of his teacher's voice was unsettling. Harry felt his stomach turn as he entered the room.  
  
"I expect more from my advanced level students. Twenty points from Gryffindor. Now please take a seat before you further interrupt my class," said Snape.  
  
Harry blushed ferociously, and slumped over to a seat next to Hermione.  
  
"Now," began Snape, "Where was I? Ah, yes, you are all now in advanced level Potions. I have high expectations from you all, as I was just telling Potter. Much more, that is to say, than I have had in previous years. This is due to many things, none of which you need to know. Today will mostly be note taking, and at the end I will ask some of you questions on what we have just learned."  
  
He looked directly at Harry as he said this, and there was no denying. He would be one of the students chosen.  
  
Harry tried his best to take accurate notes during class, but his mind kept drifting to other topics, (i.e. Ginny). At the near end of the double period, Snape set down his wand and looked around the room, acting as if he was about to choose a pupil.  
  
Harry was very nervous about the whole ordeal, and when Hermione looked over at his paper, she saw that he had no more than two lines of writing. Thinking fast, she swapped parchment with him before he could protest. Luckily, Snape did not notice.  
  
"Potter," he spat.  
  
Snape was obviously looking to catch him off guard, but Harry was armed with the most in-depth notes there were. There was no doubt in his mind that the answer to Snape's question would be found somewhere in Hermione's notes.  
  
"Tell me, Potter, what is it that the ancient Egyptians used to call Woodselsnov?"  
  
Harry flipped through the pages as quickly as he could, scanning for the answer.  
  
"We're waiting, Potter."  
  
Harry started to feel a small bit of perspiration start to build up around his temple. He just couldn't find it. Where on earth would it be? He tried to think of what part of class that Ancient Egypt had been mentioned, and was just about to give up when his eyes rested upon a single sentence and the bottom of one of the sheets.  
  
"The Ancient Egyptians," Harry started, "called it Anuck Phainud, otherwise known as the drink of the gods."  
  
"Ah," said Snape, "Can you tell me why that is?"  
  
Harry looked at him shockingly. Surely is wasn't fair for him to ask two in a row? Harry glanced down at the page, but he knew Hermione hadn't gotten this bit down.  
  
"I don't know, sir."  
  
"I see. Well, Potter, maybe you should rethink your decision to study advanced Potions. You obviously weren't cut out for it if you can't even manage to take a couple of decent notes." finished Snape.  
  
A group of Slytherins started to snicker, and alarmingly Harry noticed that Draco Malfoy was in the middle of it all. Why didn't he notice him?  
  
Harry hung his head as Snape moved on to another victim, this time a skinny looking Hufflepuff.  
  
"That is sooo unfair," whispered Hermione. "He only hinted at why it was called that, and it wasn't even until after he started talking about theofroc."  
  
But Harry was lost already. He just stared into space, waiting for class to be over.  
  
Finally, the bell rang. Harry started to gather his things slowly, but it was only when Hermione started to talk to him about Ginny that he remembered their lunch date. Snape had already held them back a few minutes, and with all the space between the dungeons and the Charms room, Harry would be lucky to see anyone in that hallway.  
  
He threw his books in his bag and ran up the stairs as fast as he could. One floor, two floors, and finally he was there. Where was she? He looked both ways, and thought that he could see someone with bright red hair a way down the hall.  
  
"GINNY!" he yelled. "GINNY!"  
  
She spun around and the look of disappointment on her face turned to pure glee. She had evidently thought that he had ditched her, but when she saw she was mistaken, ran to meet him halfway down the corridor.  
  
"Hey," he said, out of breath. "Sorry.couldn't.Snape."  
  
"Don't worry," she said, "It doesn't matter."  
  
Harry looked down at his watch. Lunch was already almost half over, they didn't have much time.  
  
"I'm sorry, Ginny, but I don't think there's enough time left for what I had planned-"  
  
Ginny gave him a look of surprise and said, "Oh, that's alright, let's just go for a walk then?"  
  
He looked at her, glad that she wasn't upset. Cho would have certainly gotten upset. She might have even cried. "Sure," he said, "But you must know, Granger, I don't put out on the first date, so if you're just looking for some action."  
  
She grinned and pushed him playfully, but he just gave her a look of innocence. "What?" he said jokingly.  
  
They walked together through the corridor, down the stairs, and out the double front doors. As they started down the hill in front of the castle, Harry grabbed her hand. They walked together all around the grounds, talking about anything and everything. 'She's perfect,' thought Harry. Little did he know that she was thinking the same thing.  
  
The pair went to sit under the shade of a small tree. It was light brown in color with unbelievably smooth bark. It's leaves were bright green in color, but not in an obnoxious way. They lay in the shade, propped up on their elbows. Their conversation was lost in the wind, which blew through Ginny's hair and made it look beautifully mussed. After about ten minutes of just lying there, enjoying the day, the warning bell rang. They had five minutes to get to class, and they were halfway across the grounds. Both of them jumped up and ran back to the castle.  
  
"Damn," said Harry, "We're going to be late. What did you say you had now?"  
  
"Transfiguration," she replied.  
  
"I'll walk you, but we better hurry."  
  
Ginny looked at him like he was out of his mind.  
  
"Harry, you know I couldn't ask you to do that. You've already been late to one class today, and I can find Mcgonagall's room perfectly fine," she said sternly.  
  
He knew she was right. "Okay," he said.  
  
Before he knew what he was doing, he leaned over and gave her a small kiss on the corner of her mouth.  
  
"I guess I'll see you at dinner?" he asked hopefully.  
  
"Yes," she replied, "I'll save you a seat."  
  
The two of them parted, each going a different direction at the top of the stairs.  
  
Harry raced to the Defense Against the Dark Arts room, checking his watch for the millionth time. He was already three minutes late.  
  
Harry burst in the door, surprising the entire class.  
  
"Well, I was beginning to wonder if we'd see you, Mr. Potter."  
  
Harry saw a fairly young looking man. He was about 6'1", and had short, sandy blonde hair from which his ears protruded very slightly. He had captivating hazel eyes and seemed like the kind of teacher that Harry could definitely get used to.  
  
"I'm sorry, Professor.er." Harry checked his schedule paper. ".Whitten."  
  
"Please call me Luke. I've already asked the rest of the class to."  
  
Yes, Harry thought, he was definitely going to like this teacher.  
  
Harry took a seat in the middle of the room, between Ron and Hermione.  
  
Seamus raised his hand high in the air.  
  
"Er, Professor, I mean Luke, I mean Professor Luke, I-"  
  
The whole class laughed at Seamus, but in a friendly way. Luke smiled as well and said, "Well, I guess Professor Luke works as well, now what was your question?"  
  
But it didn't matter what Seamus' question was, because the name Professor Luke stuck, and that was what he became to be known as.  
  
Professor Luke tried to quiet the class, but they wouldn't be silenced. So with a wave of his wand he made a loud cracking noise and all the light from the room was gone. The sunlight no longer shown in through the windows, and the torches no longer burned in their brackets. Everyone got very quiet, and then, suddenly, the light returned.  
  
"That was amazing!" exclaimed Ron.  
  
"Well thank you," said the teacher, "But that's not what we're here to learn. Now I understand that last year you learned mostly out of a book, is that correct?"  
  
The class' murmurs confirmed this fact, and Professor Luke said, "Well, I'm sorry to say that we will have a bit of that this year, but on the most part I'm not so good with books, I like the practical more, wouldn't you agree?"  
  
The class seemed very excited at this, and when the noise died down, Seamus raised his hand and shouted out, "What did you used to do for a job?"  
  
Luke smiled at Seamus, as if this was exactly the question he had been hoping to be asked.  
  
"I am an auror for the Ministry of Magic," he said proudly.  
  
The whole class gaped in wonderment. Another auror? But surely this one wasn't crazy like Moody.  
  
Dean looked at him questioningly. "How can we tell you're not off your rocker like the last one?"  
  
There were scattered stammers of "Yeah" and "He's right" all across the room.  
  
Professor Luke seemed to be thinking, but in the end he just lifted his hands up and said, "I don't know, I guess you'll just have to trust me."  
  
This answer was more satisfying than any concrete one would have been. For the rest of the lesson, all the students listened carefully to what Professor Luke was saying. He talked of all sorts of complex jinxes and curses they would be learning this year, as well as their counter parts. When the bell rang, everyone was very displeased that the lesson had to come to an end so soon.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Unfortunately, we do not know the details. Is it true that an evil wizard is after his son?" asked the old man. "Yes," replied Sirius, "Harry. He's his son. But how can James be alive? I remember when he died, I saw the body, it." The old man gave him the silencing look once more and said, "Oh, no, James is not fully alive. There is a way that can be achieved, yes, but we are not familiar with it. It makes no sense to us." Sirius was getting extremely irritated with the man. "Look, I'll help James, I'll help Harry, just tell me how to get out." "You need to be relaxed and focused. Now, concentrate on what you have to do. You must pull yourself back through the veil." 


	8. The Poll

Chapter Eight  
  
The Poll  
  
Harry, Hermione, and Ron all walked to dinner together. They arrived and saw that everyone had gotten there earlier than them.  
  
The three of them made their way over to Gryffindor table, and sat down somewhere in the middle. Hermione immediately started raving about Professor Luke, and Ron was saying something about him looking familiar. But Harry wasn't listening. His attention was focused on a certain redhead.  
  
Ginny Weasley was sitting with her friends, eating a small helping of potatoes. She just wasn't that hungry. Her stomach had been doing back- flips all day.  
  
"Ginny," one of her friends prodded, "Don't look now, but Harry Potter's had his eyes fixed on you since he got in here."  
  
Ginny's heart gave a little flutter, and she slowly turned her head towards him.  
  
When Harry realized that she had seen him, he didn't know whether to look away or not. Luckily, she gave him a small wave, which he returned happily, and then turned back to the conversation between his two best friends.  
  
"So, Harry, now that you've chosen to finally join us," Hermione said sarcastically.  
  
Ron gave him a small smile, and then said suddenly, "Oh, er, what time did you want to meet tonight?"  
  
Harry was confused.  
  
"Meet? What are you talking about?"  
  
Ron looked at him with suspiciously. "Quidditch Captain," he mercifully reminded his friend. "Good lord you've been distracted today, what's going on with you?"  
  
Not caring to share with Ron just why he had been acting so differently, he replied with, "Er, oh, nothing, just a little preoccupied, lots of potions homework.."  
  
Ron seemed to think that this was a perfectly acceptable excuse, and went back to eating his supper. Hermione, however, wasn't easily fooled. She looked at him reprimandingly, as if saying that Harry should tell Ron about him and Ginny. But why would he? They didn't even have anything yet, well, not officially at least, and there was no point in worrying him right away.  
  
Harry glanced one more time at Ginny, who was about a quarter way down the table. She was laughing with her friends, looking gorgeous, as always.  
  
Ron, Hermione, and Harry all finished their food and trooped up to the Gryffindor Tower. "So, Harry," said Ron, "Have you given any thought to, well, You-Know-Who, I mean, OUCH!!" Ron's sentence was cut short by Hermione's elbow, which found its mark right in the middle of Ronald Weasley's chest. "Hermione, what the--"  
  
Harry felt good that Hermione worried enough about his feelings to wait for Harry to raise the subject, but now seemed as good a time as ever to start talking. Of course, he had given the thought of Lord Voldemort being back in public a lot of thought, but he hadn't really seen a difference.  
  
"Its okay Hermione."  
  
Harry looked at the pair of them, and said solemnly, "Yeah, Ron, I have thought about it. A lot."  
  
Ron was apparently semi-glad that Harry hadn't gone ballistic, but he also seemed a bit putout by his mood. "Well," he began, "It said in the paper that some old bat claimed she saw him wandering the streets up near Winchester."  
  
Ron smiled at Harry, encouraging him. Harry shot him a look and said, "Is that so?"  
  
Ron knew when to end a conversation.  
  
They arrived at the portrait of the fat lady in silence. Hermione mumbled the password and climbed through quickly, and then rushed off to her dorm.  
  
The two boys stood in the entryway, and Harry soon felt someone run into him from behind. He whipped around to see a very embarrassed Ginny standing there, stammering. "Oh, Harry, er, I'm so sorry, just came through the portrait hole, didn't see you.."  
  
"S'alright," said Harry brightly. If Ron noticed how quickly Harry's mood turned around when he saw Ginny, he didn't mention it.  
  
"So," Ginny said, "Let's get down to it."  
  
She motioned to the small, circular table in the corner. Harry had spent a lot of his time at this table; it was his favorite for doing homework and talking with friends. The three of them sat down, and looked at each other awkwardly.  
  
"So," said Harry.  
  
"So," said Ron.  
  
"So," said Ginny.  
  
They looked around at each other, every one waiting for the next to start.  
  
Ginny looked at Harry and Ron exasperatedly, and then said, "Well, I suppose we should vote, then?"  
  
"Alright," Ron said, "Between who?"  
  
"Well, you two, naturally."  
  
Harry looked at her confusedly.  
  
"You don't want to be captain?" he asked.  
  
Ginny laughed.  
  
"Harry, I'm not really captain material. And even if I did want to be captain, I'm not nearly as good as you or Ron."  
  
Harry smiled at her. "Don't say that. You're a wonderful flier."  
  
She giggled at him, and Ron looked at them both. He cleared his throat, trying to catch their attention. "Well, I guess it's between Harry and me."  
  
Harry could tell that he was just trying to be a good sport, but he still didn't want to give up the position that easily.  
  
"Yeah," he said quietly.  
  
"Well," Ron began politely, "What do you think?"  
  
"I dunno," said Harry.  
  
Ginny's face lit up. "I've got an idea."  
  
They looked at her curiously, and she said, "Let's have a poll, but with the entire house!"  
  
Harry and Ron looked at each other, and then Ron exclaimed, "Ginny, you're brilliant!" He got up immediately to grab a quill and parchment to take down names. Harry looked at his best friend, hoping that they would be able to stay that way after this whole ordeal.  
  
Because while a part of him wanted Ron to get the spot, another part of him knew that he, himself, was better qualified. He didn't know what to do, until Ginny leaned down next to him. "How're you holding up?"  
  
Harry looked from her to Ron, who was now running across the room, positively ecstatic.  
  
"Alright," he said, "I've got the stuff. We can all split up, and.."  
  
"Look, Ron," Harry cut him off, "I know you're gonna win, why don't we save ourselves the trip and just name you captain?"  
  
The idea intrigued Ron, that was for sure, but he was an honest kid. "No, Harry, you're not getting out of this that easy. I'm sure some people here want to vote for you, its just a question of how many." he trailed off. Ron slammed the supplies in front of Harry and Ginny. "Well? What the hell are you waiting for?"  
  
He sped off, leaving Harry and Ginny sitting at the table. He shot her a look, and saw that she knew as well as he did that Ron didn't stand a chance. But they both acted like he did.  
  
"Well," Ginny said, "Let's go."  
  
They both got up and started polling the surrounding people.  
  
After nearly forty-five minutes, they three of them reconvened, having asked every single Gryffindor. Harry was glad that he had gotten somewhat mixed results, and as he handed them to Ginny, he prayed that Ron would win.  
  
Ginny looked at the paper, counting the names. She stared intently at the messy writing, and after a few more minutes, she looked up.  
  
"Well?" Ron inquired. "Who won?"  
  
A smile was creeping up his face, and Harry squinted his eyes, preparing. His fingers were crossed inside his pockets. 'Please let it be Ron, Please let it be Ron,' he prayed. He bit his lower lip, and felt in hurting dimly.  
  
Ginny stood up. Her expression was unreadable. She took a deep breath. Her palms started to get a little sweaty. The two boys she cared most about, her brother and her, well, whatever Harry was, she had to break the bad news to one of them.  
  
"It's a tie."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
Harry and Ron had both been at the edge of their seats, and now they hear that they had gotten the same amount of votes?  
  
"That can't be," said Harry. "There's an even number of people here. And since two of us are running.."  
  
"Who didn't we ask?" Ron questioned. "Who else is there?"  
  
Ginny looked at the two boys and said quietly, "Me."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"What?" The old man looked very irritated. "Just listen!" he commanded. Sirius fell silent. He didn't want to damage his chance out of here. "Now, concentrate. Imagine going back, defying gravity, lifting up,.." Sirius thought very hard, but it didn't seem to be working. Just then, the old man started saying something in a strange language. It sounded like some kid of chant. Sirius looked at him, and was quickly scolded by the first man he had talked to. "Concentrate. Settle your mind on one goal." Sirius' thoughts enveloped around one thing, and suddenly, he felt himself floating upwards.. 


	9. Harry's Blunder

Chapter Nine  
  
*  
  
*  
  
The three of them stood there in silence.  
  
It was down to Ginny. Who would she vote for? Would she go for Ron, her brother, or Harry, her, well....  
  
Ginny looked frantically between the two of them. The boys just stared at her.  
  
"Well?" questioned Ron.  
  
Ginny's gaze swept across the room, looking for an alternative. She looked incredibly uncomfortable. "Er,...."  
  
Ron gave her an expectant look. Harry stood there, stock-still, absolutely terrified. Surely she would pick family over him?  
  
Ginny looked at her brother almost apologetically and blurted out, "Harry."  
  
Ron was shocked by this statement. He had lost the captain's position by one vote, which had been his sister's. And what was worse, she had picked his best friend instead....  
  
Trying to recover quickly, Ron looked up at the ceiling and said, "Fine. Congratulations, Harry."  
  
Harry looked at his friend, not knowing what to do. He could tell Ron was not happy.  
  
"No, Ron, see, you can be captain, really, I--"  
  
Ronald cut him off with, "Don't try to be all NOBLE, then. You won, get over it."  
  
And with that, Ron trumped up the stairs, his ears burning red from behind.  
  
*  
  
"What was that all about?" Harry demanded.  
  
Ginny turned to him, looking completely bewildered.  
  
"I would have thought you'd want me to vote for you, Harry--"  
  
Harry gave her a look of contempt. She got very red in the face and started to stutter.  
  
"WHY did you do that?!" he asked, raging with fury.  
  
Ginny rolled her eyes and replied, "It's not like I chose you because of, well, you know,....I just really think you're better at Quidditch is all."  
  
This answer wasn't satisfying enough for him, though.  
  
"Yeah? Well, now Ron's mad at me on top of everything else, and you don't even--"  
  
At this point, Ginny was about to burst.  
  
"DON'T YOU TALK TO ME LIKE IT'S MY FAULT!" she screamed.  
  
"WELL IT IS!!" Harry shot back.  
  
At this point, they had about the entire common room staring at them.  
  
"WELL HARRY, YOU CAN GO TO HELL FOR ALL I CARE!"  
  
Harry calmed down immediately and looked at the girl. But she had had enough. Ginny followed in her brother's footsteps and ran up to her dormitory.  
  
Well, now he'd blown it. Both of the Weasleys were angry with him, and it was only about 6:30. He hadn't meant to get mad at Ginny like that....But it had just come out.  
  
Harry glanced around the room, trying to see if Hermione was anywhere nearby. But then he realized that she had already retired for the night. Not wanting to show his face anywhere near either dorm, he decided to take a walk.  
  
Harry threw open the portrait hole, much to the fat lady's surprise. She was caught entirely off-guard, and he heard shouts of 'A little violent, aren't we?' all the way down the corridor.  
  
Harry started to pick up his pace once he had reached the end of the hallway, and was almost at a sprint when he reached the front doors.  
  
He raced down the lawn, which was slightly damp now that night was falling.  
  
Harry got to Hagrid's hut in mere minutes, and was standing by the door, preparing to knock when it burst open.  
  
Standing there in shock was the largest person Harry knew.  
  
"Arry? Wha are ye doin' 'ere this late at nigh'?"  
  
He took a deep breath and stormed into his hut.  
  
Harry sat down in one of the large-scale dining chairs and looked up at his friend.  
  
Hagrid just stared at him, bewildered.  
  
Finally, he decided to be welcoming and offered to make some tea and scones.  
  
Harry accepted dismally, and it wasn't until he had been sitting in Hagrid's home for almost fifteen minutes that he started telling his story.  
  
Hagrid listened to the whole thing, showing no emotion whatsoever.  
  
"And then I just ran outta there," he finished.  
  
A look of understanding was on his giant friend's face.  
  
"Well, 'Arry, I dunno wha' ter tell ye."  
  
He glared at Hagrid and nearly shouted, "WELL THEN WHAT AM I DOING HERE?"  
  
Hagrid frowned and said solemnly, "Couldn't tell ye tha'."  
  
Harry was furious. Why was he acting like this? He took a calming breath and looked quietly at Hagrid.  
  
"I just dunno what to do," he said.  
  
Hagrid was drinking out of some type of flask. Harry stared intently at the container.  
  
The giant seemed to get the message. He offered some to Harry, who downed it in one go.  
  
"Righ' then, we'll be needin' more o' that," he said, surprised.  
  
As Hagrid made himself busy, Harry started to stammer on about his predicament. Hagrid went about refilling his canteen while Harry said, "I just ruined it all, Hagrid, mate. She's sure to hate me now."  
  
But he didn't seem to be listening to the sixth year. Harry was starting to feel the effects of his drink.  
  
"Hagrid! Are you even paying attention to what I'm saying?"  
  
"Er, yeah, 'Arry. Go on."  
  
Before Hagrid could protest, Harry took his new drink as well. He felt the fiery liquid going down his throat, and shook his head after he'd finished.  
  
"There any more o' this stuff, 'Agrid?" he managed to spit out.  
  
The adult looked worried, and said slowly, "No, 'Arry, you've 'ad enough o' that now."  
  
Harry blew up at his friend.  
  
"I'LL BLOODY TELL YOU WHEN I'VE HAD ENOUGH!"  
  
Hagrid shrugged and let him finish off the rest of his supply, which was a surprising amount.  
  
By the time Harry had gone through it all, he couldn't even see straight.  
  
"Arry, mate, it's really time ye were getting' back to the school, ye've gotta be back afore nine, remember?"  
  
Harry scowled and stood up.  
  
"Well thanks for all YOUR help, 'Agrid," he said, stumbling towards the door.  
  
"Ere, 'Arry, lemme help ye back,...."  
  
But it was too late; Harry had already left.  
  
*  
  
*  
  
*  
  
Harry would never know how he found his way to the Gryffindor corridor. He was absolutely gone, and it was a miracle he could even stand.  
  
He was trying to get down the hall, making quite a ruckus knocking over statues and pieces of armor, when he saw a picture swing from the wall in front of him.  
  
'Interesting,' he thought.  
  
"HARRY?" a voice whispered urgently. Someone had just emerged from behind that portrait of a very fat woman. Incredible.  
  
"Ron? Is that you, mate?" he asked in wavering tones.  
  
"Er, no," said the boy uncertainly, "I'm Dean, remember? Dean Thomas?"  
  
Harry frowned at the tall boy and said plainly, "Where is she."  
  
He didn't phrase it as a question, he just stated it.  
  
Dean looked around uncomfortably, and said, "Who, Harry?"  
  
Harry threw off Dean's advancement towards him as he tried to stop him from falling into the large portrait on the wall.  
  
"Her," he replied while rolling his head, "Ginny."  
  
Dean tried to talk Harry down by saying, "She's just inside, man, just c'mon in and I'll bring you to her...."  
  
'NO!" Harry yelled. "You bring HER HERE."  
  
Harry tried to sit defiantly on the bench by the wall, but he only succeeded in rolling off of the armrest.  
  
He looked around for Dean, but couldn't see him.  
  
Suddenly, the picture opened again. Out came three figures, two of which had flaming heads.  
  
"Quick," Harry slurred, "Their hair's on fire, get some wat--"  
  
But he just fell to the floor, only to be caught by Hermione.  
  
"Hermy?" he asked, dazed.  
  
"Yes," she replied exasperatedly, "It's me."  
  
"Where Gin?" he asked.  
  
"I dunno mate, but it looks like you've had your fair share of it," said the taller of the two flaming heads.  
  
"Ron," scolded Hermy, "Just help me out. You too, Ginny."  
  
"GINNY!" gasped Harry.  
  
He lunged forward to the shortest person there, landing on top of her.  
  
"OUCH, Harry, GET OFF ME!"  
  
Harry rolled his eyes involuntarily and said, "Gin, why do we fight?"  
  
"I do not know, Harry, but if you do not get off of me soon I might sustain permanent injuries," she said in a patient voice.  
  
"We shouldn't fight," he continued, "I don't like it."  
  
"Yes, well me neither, but HERMIONE HELP ME!"  
  
The other two people came and pulled Harry off of her, and held him upright.  
  
"GEROFF!" he grumbled, shaking them away, "I only wanna talk to her."  
  
He tried to point in Ginny's general direction, but he only managed to lift his arm before half-collapsing again.  
  
"HARRY!" they all shouted.  
  
The three of them helped the drunken Harry stand, but he would only accept help from the younger Weasley.  
  
So, Ginny shouldered most of the weight, and Hermione and Ron walked to the side, making sure Harry stayed upright.  
  
They finally crawled through the portrait hole, up the stairs, and into his dorm.  
  
They threw him on the bed and started drilling him.  
  
"Harry," began Hermione, "where on EARTH did you find so much ALCOHOL!"  
  
Harry looked at her defiantly and said, "Agrid."  
  
Ginny looked at her brother and said sadly, "I should've known."  
  
"Well, what're we gonna do NOW?" bellowed Ron.  
  
"I guess we'll just have to keep him up here, you know,...."  
  
"I can't look after him MYSELF!" said Ron.  
  
"Well, I don't know what to tell you, but--"  
  
"HOLD IT!" screamed Ginny.  
  
Harry really wished she wouldn't scream. It really hurt his head.  
  
"We'll all just stay here and watch him. We'll sleep in shifts."  
  
Hermione looked at the younger girl and agreed.  
  
Ron was the only one who was taken aback, but he agreed to have the two girls sleep in the room with them in the end.  
  
"What about pajamas?" asked Hermione.  
  
"What about them?" the Weasleys replied.  
  
"Well, he can't just sleep in his day clothes."  
  
All three of them looked at each other, and suddenly Ron shouted, "ABC OUT!"  
  
"Ron, you're such a child--" Ginny started, but was cut off by Hermione's addition to the game as she yelled it.  
  
"Oh, honestly, both of you," she said irritably.  
  
Ginny turned and looked down on a now sound asleep Harry.  
  
She reached down and took off his sweater and shirt, and was met with his deliciously toned upper body. She mentally slapped herself. After all, they were in a fight.  
  
She the proceeded to undo his belt, feeling increasingly more uncomfortable. Ginny then unzipped and slid off his pants, revealing his dark navy boxers.  
  
'Whoa.'  
  
Hermione sensed her stalling and came over to help her, but seeing as his socks were the last thing to take off they were done relatively quickly. They decided to let him sleep in his undergarments, feeling they would be over-invasive by re-dressing him.  
  
After Harry was safely under his covers, Ron conjured two cots and sleeping bags for the girls. Hermione let Ginny have the prettier pink one, and took the blue for herself.  
  
*  
  
*  
  
Ginny lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Her thoughts drifted from Harry, to Harry, to, well, Harry....  
  
Just then she head him stirring. She sat up to see what was going on, only to see him sitting against the wall, clutching his stomach.  
  
"Harry?" she whispered.  
  
His head turned towards her slowly, and then he gave her a forced smile.  
  
"I'm never drinking that much again. I feel like shit."  
  
"Oh, Harry," she said, sighing, "Come here."  
  
When his attempt at moving failed, she crawled up and sat next to him, patting him on the back.  
  
"You gonna be okay?" she asked.  
  
Harry closed his eyes, and said painfully, "I think I'm gonna be sick."  
  
Ginny, thinking quickly, transfigured a nearby water glass into a large bucket. She then handed it to Harry, who kept it at his opposite side.  
  
"Gin, I'm sorry."  
  
She looked up at him, tears in her eyes.  
  
"Me, too."  
  
He let out a long sigh and closed his eyes again.  
  
Ginny made to snuggle up next to him, but he pulled her in extremely close.  
  
"Thank you," he said, with breath that reeked of bourbon.  
  
"No problem," she replied sweetly.  
  
"Ginny, there's something I need to tell you."  
  
She looked at his dark green eyes, which were surprisingly clear.  
  
"Yes?" she whispered carefully, not wanting to break eye contact. If it was possible, he looked even better without his glasses.  
  
"Ginny I--"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I--"  
  
Ginny looked at him intently, seeing something bad was about to happen.  
  
Suddenly, he lunged forward and retched into the provided bucket.  
  
Disappointed, Ginny patted his back and looked to get Hermione.  
  
But she wasn't on her cot.  
  
In fact, Ginny didn't see her anywhere on the floor.  
  
Her eyes swept the surroundings, finally resting on a mass of brown hair.  
  
Not surprisingly, it was nesting next to a small crop of bright red hair.  
  
'Well, it's about time,' thought Ginny.  
  
Hermione and Ron were sharing a bed, but there was definitely a little movement coming from under the covers.  
  
Disgusted, Ginny got up and closed the drapes slowly, closing her brother and her friend in the confines of his sleeping space.  
  
Ginny went back to sit by Harry, who was nearly asleep.  
  
"C'mere," he said groggily.  
  
She went over to sit by him, and he wrapped his arms around her torso.  
  
And that is how they fell asleep, Harry and Ginny sharing a bed, and Ron and Hermione sharing one.  
  
It was such a peaceful slumber; no one expected the turmoil of the morning. 


	10. Sirius's Ressurection

Chapter Ten  
  
*  
  
*  
  
Sirius' Resurrection  
  
*  
  
The sun shone brightly on his eyelids, and he could hear the small birds call to one another. There was a faint grumble of a car engine, and the smell of exhaust nearly made him gag.  
  
Wait....sun? Birds? Exhaust?  
  
Sirius' eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright.  
  
He could feel the hard cobblestone beneath him, and couldn't quite remember where he was.  
  
He remembered flying upwards, out of the veil...that had been painful. The veil must not be used to people leaving it, because a great amount of resistance had met him.  
  
He noted a small pressure at his breastbone, like a string had been attached to it and was now being tugged at gently. But that wasn't important.  
  
Sirius cleared his head and took a look around. He was sitting outside a familiar red phone booth....  
  
A look of disbelief crossed his face as he felt around to verify that he was, indeed, back. He tapped the ground and grabbed up a handful of dirt from the gutter.  
  
Sirius let out a triumphant shout as he stood up and brushed himself off. But as his hands hit his robes, there was a faint swishing noise and they passed right through him.  
  
His eyes widened as he continued to run his fingers across his clothes, watching them seemly disappear before mysteriously reappearing on his other side.  
  
But Sirius wasn't a ghost, because he could still feel, still smell, still taste....  
  
Well, he certainly hoped he could taste. Sirius had the appetite of a small elephant, and thought that he was probably capable of eating one, too.  
  
He tried to reach inside his pocket to grab some money, but recognized the dilemma halfway through. Thinking quickly, Sirius lay on the ground again, rolling on to his back.  
  
People walking the street gave him bizarre looks, and they clearly thought he was insane. Not that he cared.  
  
Finally, the sound of clanking change in Sirius' robes ceased, as a small, black moneybag fell out of his pocket.  
  
He bent over to pick it up, and then walked haughtily over to a small café across the street.  
  
*  
  
* (A/N:)  
  
How can he pick up the moneybag when he seemingly just passes through everything? That would be a good question. Unfortunately, you'll all have to wait for the answer.  
  
*  
  
A few notes:  
  
Fair-Faye-Kahlan: Haha, you only think Mark Evans is Harry's brother... just wait.  
  
Leto249: You'll find out soon  
  
Pitbull2000: Don't we all? 


End file.
